A virtual world is a computer-based simulation environment where users are intended to inhabit and interact via avatars. A user accesses a computer-simulated world which presents perceptual stimuli to the user, who in turn can manipulate elements of the modeled world and thus experiences telepresence to a certain degree. Such modeled worlds may appear similar to the real world or instead may depict fantasy worlds Virtual worlds are not limited to games but can encompass computer conferencing and text based chat rooms.
By way of example, virtual worlds (VWs), such as Second Life, offer avatars public places in which to meet and hold meetings. However, within a company environment, not all meetings are open to the public. Confidential meetings are often necessary. The community aspects of virtual worlds directly conflict with the need for confidential meetings. In virtual worlds, the servers, and therefore the operators of the virtual world, usually learn the content and metadata of all objects because they need to distribute these pieces of data to the community as part of the virtual world environment. Thus, the goal of confidentiality affects other users of the virtual world and the virtual world server infrastructure.